Surprises
by lovely ravenclaw
Summary: This is my rendition of what happened after Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts their 5th year. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own any of these characters.

**Chapter 1: Surprise**

Hermione paced the steps outside Gringott's Bank anxiously. Though the day was beautiful, full of sunshine and a gentle breeze, she could not help but feel worried. The street in front of her hustled with carefree shoppers; children dragged their parents from shop to shop in hurried excitement of their first year at Hogwarts. Hermione smiled indulgently in the direction of a young girl trying to regain control of an absolute terror of a cat, looking quite like Crookshanks. It was hard to imagine it had already been 6 years since she had first walked down this street, amazed at the wizarding world she was preparing to enter. She never would have guessed what her years at Hogwarts would have in store. With the thoughts of the horrors she and her friends had faced, the hard lump returned to her throat.

"What is taking him so long? He should have been here ages ago" She asked worriedly of Ron, who was lounging on one of the tall marble steps below Hermione's pacing.

"Calm down, Hermione, it's only 10 after. A million things could have delayed him." At Ron's attempt at reassurance, Hermione's head snapped around to stare Ron fearfully in the face. Before she could start on any more tirades about how unsafe Diagon Alley was, Ron corrected himself. "A million perfectly safe and harmless things. Come sit down here and stop worrying." Mustering an appreciative smile, Hermione settled on the step next to Ron.

"I just don't know if this was the best way to meet up with him again. Maybe we should have found somewhere secret and private to meet. What if something happened to him and Professor Lupin? What if Volde-"

"Hermione! He's fine. Lupin wouldn't let anything happen to him and you know it. He'll be here any moment," Ron continued. As if on cue, Ron and Hermione both caught sight of their best friend hurrying up the street in their direction. A shabby, somewhat bedraggled Lupin fell behind in order to let the three reunite in whatever privacy Diagon Alley allowed.

Hermione was so ecstatic to see Harry again, safe and sound and looking relatively happy, that she flung herself upon him in a relieved hug. Ron and Harry exchanged friendly, somewhat bashful handshakes. Harry was so glad to finally be with Ron and Hermione in person after nearly a month of rushed, brief letters every other week. He was dying to catch up with their news from the summer. Rather than overwhelm them with hundreds of questions, though, Harry walked calmly down the street at their sides. They each held pieces of parchment with a list of books for their sixth year and ducked into shops as necessary to purchase supplies. Something about this touched Hermione as extremely poignant. They had never shopped on their own for their schoolbooks before. At the end of the summer Mrs. Weasley always seemed to locate their lists and take care of the shopping without the kids even realizing. This year, however, Mrs. Weasley was extremely busy with Order business and didn't need to be bothered with school shopping. As Hermione, Ron, and Harry perused the Diagon Alley shops, Hermione was touched by the idea that they were really growing up.

With their parcels under their arms, they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron where they would meet up with Ginny and then make their way back to the Burrow via the Floo Network. Settling onto three mismatched stools with their bundles of books and supplies, they chatted amiably about their summers. Though they undoubtedly had questions to ask of each other, they all recognized this was neither the time nor the place. Rather, they enjoyed their time, pretending they had not just had a run-in with Voldemort and his Death Eaters where two of them were seriously injured just a month prior. Harry told of the recent escapades on Privet Drive, including the always-humorous tales of Dudley's recent dieting experiments. Harry also described in length how his "rescue mission" had gone.

Out of all the escapes Harry had made from the Dursley's, summer after summer, this was by far the mildest. There was no flying car, Knight bus, or army of guards on this departure from Privet Drive. Instead, it had been a relatively dull morning when Harry heard a timid knock at the door. Never imagining it would have something to do with himself, he retreated upstairs. After all, he knew full well that Uncle Vernon would not appreciate him hanging around if he was having company over. Much to Harry's surprise, Mr. Dursley bellowed his name a few minutes later. To his even greater shock, he came downstairs and saw Professor Lupin sitting on Aunt Petunia's over-stuffed flowered sofa with a delicate teacup in his hand.

"Hello Harry. I hope your summer has been going well." Lupin said calmly, nodding a little and smiling encouragingly. Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief. What was Lupin doing in his living room conversing so naturally with Uncle Vernon?

"Harry, this nice gentleman, what's your name again? Lupan? Lupin? Ah yes, Mr. Lupin was just telling me how much he would appreciate taking you off my hands for the rest of the summer. I'm not exactly sure if he's aware of the sort of extreme delinquency you are capable of, but he assures me he'd like you to go with him. As much as it pains me to dispose of, er, _part with_ my favorite nephew so early in the summer, I think I'll have to acquiesce. Now get your stuff Harry, hurry now, before he changes his mind," Uncle Vernon rambled. Harry only paused a second to make sure this was not some sort of horrible joke before dashing upstairs to collect his trunk, books, and Hedwig's cage, and hurrying out the door with Professor Lupin in tow. Mr. Dursley stood at the door beaming and shouting at their backs "Thank you, thank you, do come again for some tea Mr. Lupin!"

Back in Diagon Alley, the thought of Mr. Dursley entertaining a wizard had Hermione, Ron, and Harry breaking down in fits of laughter.

"Imagine what he would have thought if he'd discovered this was not just any sort of wizard, but a werewolf too!" Hermione pointed out through her laughter. This just sent the trio into more hysterical peals.

"What's so funny?" Ginny asked as she approached from the doorway with bundles of school things in her arms, "Oh and hello Harry."

"Oh it's nothing, I'm just reliving the story of my escape from my aunt and uncle's house" Harry answered back. Ginny smiled widely.

"Well all ready to go then? Your mother wouldn't like to know we were just dawdling around town, attracting all this attention," Hermione said, suddenly aware that everyone in the Leaky Cauldron had probably wondering what they'd been laughing at. The others consented and stood up to go. Much to Harry's surprise, as he turned to go he found himself face to face with Luna Lovegood.

"Hello Harry, good summer?" She asked dreamily. Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other at her spacey manner.

"Um yeah, it was alright. It's getting better. And you Luna?" Harry said politely, remembering the last night he had seen. She had been posting signs for her belongings, which had been stolen throughout the year. Once again, a wave of pity washed over him.

"Ohh, it was charming. There is nothing quite like tracking Crumple-Horned Snorkacks through the hills of Sweden" Luna replied airily, her wide eyes roaming around the room and settling on Ron. She smiled sweetly and purred, "Hello Ronald." Ron turned a becoming shade of crimson as Hermione narrowed her eyes at Luna and moved closer to him.

"We were just about to go actually, maybe we'll see you…around," Hermione muttered icily and yanked on Ron's arm. Bewildered, Harry followed the pair to the corner table where Lupin sat reading a newspaper.

"All ready gang?" He asked as he got to his feet. They went upstairs where a hunched over, crumpled-looking witch was stoking a fire. As they waited for the fire to burn well enough for traveling, Harry remembered the question he had for his friends.

"Why exactly did Lupin come get me? He said everything was alright, but wouldn't tell me what was going on…not that I mind leaving there early, mind you, but I was just curious."

"It's all ready for you Mr. Lupin, sir" the witch cackled, cutting off any hopes of an answer from Hermione or Ron. One by one they took turns stepping into the roaring green flames and shouting "The Burrow!" After a quick spinning sensation, Harry felt himself fall heavily to the hearth inside the Weasley's home. Before he had a chance to regain his composure Harry was overwhelmed with a "Surprise!" followed by a rousing chorus "Happy Birthday to You!" Harry was absolutely stunned. At the Dursley house his birthday was never even acknowledged let alone celebrated, thus he'd begun to forget it himself.

Gathered in the small Weasley kitchen were all the people Harry had been missing that summer: Hermione, Ron, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, the entire clan of Weasleys (minus Percy), even Dobby, who came forward bowing low and squeaking a wealth of birthday wishes. In the midst of all his surprise and cheer, Harry was suddenly struck with intense grief. Everyone was there who mattered but one, Sirius. Among all the chattering, eating, and laughing, no one seemed to notice Harry's eyes cloud over and a frown replace his surprised smile. Yet suddenly he felt a pressure on his arm and he looked down to find Ginny at his side looking somewhat worried.

"Look Harry I know this is a bit overwhelming, but we just thought…I guess we just thought you needed something, a pick-me-up after what happened…well you know. But if it's too much, just say so, we can send everyone home. Or you can go up and lie down. Anything, really," she explained apologetically. He smiled halfheartedly at her.

"Thanks Ginny, but I'll be alright. It's just…different without him…" His voice trailed off sadly "…but no really this is great. Thanks." She squeezed his arm a little and then floated off to socialize with the other guests, including Dean Thomas who had just arrived. Something about the way he casually put his arm around her slender shoulders somehow made Harry jealous. He looked around idly, trying not to stare at Dean and Ginny. He watched Mrs. Weasley cutting a slice of cake for Mr. Weasley, Tonks showing off her rapidly changing appearance to a seemingly smitten Charlie, and a lavishly dressed Fred showing Katie Bell some of his new and improved joke shop wares. It seemed that everywhere Harry looked, people were falling in love. Feeling somewhat sickened, he turned towards Hermione and Ron, glad that they at least were immune to the romance bug.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of these other characters.

**Chapter 2: An Even Greater Surprise**

Ron and Hermione were huddled in the corner of the kitchen, talking in low tones as Harry meandered through the kitchen, greeting friends politely.

"Ron what will we do?" Hermione asked apprehensively.

"Do about what?" Ron asked through mouthfuls of chocolate birthday cake.

"You _know_" She insisted through clenched teeth.

"Know what Hermione? Come on, I have no idea what you're talking-"

"Ron we have got to tell him!"

"Tell him what?" Hermione wanted to continue berating Ron on this very important issue but she saw Harry coming their way and stopped the conversation.

"Hey guys," Harry said with a half smile, "do you think there's something weird going on around here?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, a little too quickly and nervously.

"I dunno, it just seems like everyone's, like, in love or something."

"LOVE? Love? No, no way mate, no love" Ron said, choking on a gulp of butterbeer. Hermione stamped on his foot and gave him a lethal warning stare.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. It just seems like… oh I don't know…" Harry trailed off in thought.

"Listen Harry," Hermione said timidly, "I think we've got to talk." Ron shot her a fearful glance, but followed her and Harry out of the kitchen and upstairs to his room. Once the trio had settled on his old, sagging mattress, they stared at each other awkwardly. There seemed to be so much to say, to ask but no one knew how to start. Hermione took a deep breath to begin explaining things when Harry cut her off.

"I just wanted to let you guys know, I've been doing a lot of thinking. I've come to terms with everything that happened… you know, back there, in the Department of Mysteries. I still miss Sirius, but I don't want to dwell on it. We're about to start another year of school, and another year of fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We can't just sit around and mourn Sirius, it's the last thing he would have wanted," Harry explained solemnly. It felt good to have that off his chest, out in the open. Ron and Hermione exchanged a serious look.

"All right Harry," Hermione said quietly, "but if you ever want to talk about it, really please come to us." Ron nodded his agreement to this statement. Harry smiled appreciatively at his best friends.

"Hey guys, I'm really tired from all this stuff that happened today. Do you mind if I head to bed?" Harry asked exhaustedly. Of course Hermione and Ron didn't mind and left him alone in the room to get some rest.

When Harry awoke the next morning he had to pinch himself to make sure he was not dreaming. Behind him the light was streaming through the window, illuminating the moving posters of Quidditch teams on the walls of Ron's room. He reached over for the glasses on the nightstand beside his cot. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and perched them upon his nose, a picture caught his attention. It was a picture of Ron and Hermione. Harry couldn't remember exactly when it was taken, but knew he must have been around somewhere. He tapped the glass of the picture frame gently, calling his photographed self out from the shadows. Instead he just roused the miniature Ron and Hermione. They'd been sleeping, Hermione's head resting on Ron's shoulder. Upon their awake, Ron hugged Hermione tightly and smiled at the camera. Harry's miniature self was nowhere to be seen. _Ah well, _Harry thought to himself, _I must have been taking the picture or something_, though he really couldn't remember ever having done so. Looking over towards Ron's side of the room, Harry realized his friend had already awoken and headed downstairs for breakfast. Harry reluctantly followed suit and headed down to the kitchen. However, he paused halfway down the steps.

Sitting at the kitchen table were Ron and Hermione. This was not especially unusual except for their extreme closeness. Their chairs had been scotched as close as possible to each other's. They were reading the Daily Prophet together over breakfast, Hermione's head resting on Ron's shoulder, and Ron's hand tracing circles on Hermione's back. Something was horribly wrong with this picture. As if to confirm Harry's feelings of unease, Ron and Hermione stumbled across something particularly humorous in the paper and while Hermione laughed, Ron leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. All of a sudden Harry felt sick to his stomach. He turned to run the rest of the way up the steps when he ran straight into Ginny.

"Morning Harry," she mumbled sleepily, running a hand through her disheveled mop of red hair.

"What the bloody hell is going on down there?" Harry shouted into the face of a very bewildered Ginny. Knocking her out of the way, he ran up the steps and into the bedroom he shared with his now ex best friend. As he slammed the door shut he also performed a locking spell, though he knew a simple 'alohamora' would do the trick in opening it again.

Ginny, upon realizing what was happening, rushed upstairs and knocked on Harry's door.

"Go away!" He shouted from the other side.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry. I thought they would have told you" Ginny said through the keyhole. "Please, let me in. I'll explain everything."

"_You_ shouldn't be the one explaining. It should be them. _They_ should have told me. Those no good, lousy gits. They should have told me" Harry shouted back at her.

"Harry please won't you let me in?" She asked quietly. After a moment's hesitation she added, "and if you don't, I'll just 'alohamora' it. Either way I win." A second later the latch clicked and Ginny pushed her way inside. She sat down on Harry's cot and watched as he fumingly paced the floor. He ran his fingers through his hair, obviously frustrated. With a sigh, Ginny patted the bed next to her, hoping Harry would calm down long enough to talk to her. Instead he continued pacing and stomping and muttering under his breath, once or twice he would bring out his wand and grip it so hard and furiously that sparks would shoot from the end. When Ginny got sufficiently worried by the rogue sparks, she gripped Harry by the shoulders and pulled him roughly onto his cot.

"I just don't understand Ginny. When? How? For Merlin's sake, Why?" Harry asked, holding his hand in his head. She was sort of taken aback at Harry's reaction. Though she expected quite a lot of surprise and shock, Harry's was acting downright devastated. Suddenly something dawned on Ginny.

"Harry, you didn't…I mean you weren't hoping…" Harry stared at her quizzically, obviously not catching her drift, "…oh Harry, you didn't like her did you?" She finally spat out.

"Hermione? No way!" Harry exclaimed immediately. "It's just that…I don't understand. I thought we were all friends, all equals. And now there they are, practically snogging over breakfast, and no one even bothered to tell me. I couldn't be more surprised if I'd found out Hermione was dating Malfoy or something. I just don't understand…" He trailed off sadly. It seemed strange to her that after so many years of wanting to date Harry, here she was all alone with him, the shoulder he was nearly crying on. She wished she could somehow comfort him, make him see that this would not be the end of Harry's friendship with Ron and Hermione. However, she really did not know if that was true.

All of a sudden Ron and Hermione burst in. They were still laughing, obviously oblivious to the temper tantrum Harry had been throwing only moments before. Upon seeing the serious expressions on Harry and Ginny's faces, though, they fell silent. In a flash Harry's expression had gone from serious to deadly. He lunged towards them, spewing insults and accusations about torrid love affairs and secret trysts in the deserted corridors of Hogwarts. Ron was obviously confused as to what had come over his best friend, but Hermione immediately knew what was happening. A look at Ginny confirmed Hermione's suspicions.

"Harry," Hermione said tentatively, "Ron and I are dating."


End file.
